
On Painting
Penguin Publishing Group · Paperback · July 2, 1991
Artist, architect, poet and philosopher, Leon Battista Alberti revolutionized the history of art with his theories of perspective in On Painting (1435).
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- Who it’s for
- Alberti makes perspective, proportion, light, and composition legible as both craft and theory.
- Themes
- Perspective and proportion, Painting and composition, The painter’s moral and artistic ideals
- Genres
- Art Criticism & Ideas, Renaissance Art History, Aesthetics
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Artist, architect, poet and philosopher, Leon Battista Alberti revolutionized the history of art with his theories of perspective in On Painting (1435).
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Inspired by the order and beauty inherent in nature, his groundbreaking work sets out the principles of distance, dimension and proportion; instructs the painter on how to use the rules of composition, representation, light and colour to create work that is graceful and pleasing to the eye; and stipulates the moral and artistic pre-requisites of the successful painter. On Painting had an immediate and profound influence on Italian Renaissance artists including Ghiberti, Fra Angelico and Veneziano and on later figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, and remains a compelling theory of art. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Seeing in Perspective
Alberti makes perspective, proportion, light, and composition legible as both craft and theory.
Come here for
- Seeing Renaissance painting through its rules of making
- The meeting of visual craft and artistic thought
Expect
- Principles of distance, dimension, proportion, light, and colour
- Attention to the painter’s moral as well as artistic preparation
Where it sits
| Renaissance Art History | 51% |
|---|---|
| Art Criticism & Ideas | 47% |
| Aesthetics | 36% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Renaissance Art History
- Artist Essays
- Painting Techniques
- Authors
- Leon Battista Alberti, Martin Kemp
- Publisher
- Penguin Publishing Group
- Published
- July 2, 1991
- Format
- Paperback
- Theme
- Perspective and proportion · Painting and composition · The painter’s moral and artistic ideals
- Reading lane
- Renaissance Art History